Back-to-school means back to hitting the books. Yet this year, one Wisconsin teacher is passing out a different kind of book to her students in grades five through eight. The new fitbook junior, a 12-week interactive fitness and food journal for kids, will teach students at St. Francis de Sales the importance of goal-setting, engaging in daily physical children activities and making nutritious food choices, while balancing their tasks at school and home.

“My goal is to teach students the importance of taking care of their health. I want them to have fun while doing it, and they’ll also be graded,” says Beth Ivey, a Physical Education teacher at St. Francis de Sales. “More than ever, taking responsibility for your health is a critical subject kids must learn while they’re young.”

With child obesity on the rise, and nearly 12 million children in the U.S. significantly overweight*, improving the health of young Americans is a growing national emergency for powerful influencers like First Lady Michelle Obama. In a recent interview with Women’s Health magazine, Mrs. Obama declared combating childhood obesity as one of her top health-related issues: “We need to educate children in particular about how to live a healthy lifestyle. If we provide kids with [that] foundation, they are much more likely to become healthy adults.”

Also on the roster in the nation’s fight to improving children’s health is former President Bill Clinton and his Alliance for a Healthier Generation where he actively encourages schools, non-profit organizations, and most importantly, parents to step up and act as role models. Clinton’s organization states that today, 1 in 3 children or youth (age 2-19) are either overweight or obese and that number is expected increase by 20 percent over the next five years if the current trends are not reversed.

“This is a real passion project for our company,” says Angela Manzanares, chief fitlosopher of California-based fitlosophy, inc., creators of fitbook(TM) junior. “If we can teach the kiddos when they’re young to make healthy choices, we can play an active part not only in combating the trend in rising childhood obesity, but play a major role in changing the shape of America - literally.” Complete with star stickers, the interactive, fun format also includes a ‘coach guide’ to provide parents and teachers with tips on educating and motivating children. “Our mission is to positively influence kids by offering a fun program that the entire family can partake in.”

The release of fitbook(TM) junior is an extension of its parent product, fitbook(TM), a functional fitness and nutrition journal that educates and supports adults to reach their health goals.

“The simple, colorful layout of fitbook junior is easy enough for kids as young as 5 to understand and use, yet structured and engaging enough for the older kids to want to use it. They set goals, track progress with their star stickers, and earn rewards,” says Lisa Greenwood, a mother and Program Director of Fleet Feet’s Zoomerang Kids Running Club in Connecticut. “I use the grown-up book, and my son and I make our plans together. His goals include running eight laps and eating five new fruits this week, while I’m working on strength training and stretching.”

SOURCE fitlosophy, inc.

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Nestle USA has joined an unprecedented coalition of more than 40 retailers, food and beverage manufacturers and non-governmental organizations to launch the Healthy Weight Commitment Foundation, a national, multi-year effort designed to help reduce obesity - one of the less heralded children behavior problems there are - by 2015.

The Healthy Weight Commitment Foundation will promote the concept of energy balance - balancing calories consumed as part of a healthy diet with calories expended by physical activity -to people in the places where they spend much of their time: to consumers in the marketplace, to employees through workplace programs and to children in schools.

“The rise of obesity is one of the most significant global public health challenges facing us today,” said Rob Case, president of Nestle Beverage and board member of the Healthy Weight Commitment Foundation. “At Nestle USA, we believe that balanced nutrition and regular physical activity are critical for maintaining optimal health. We are dedicated to providing our consumers with delicious, high quality foods and beverages that can be enjoyed as part of nutritious diet, clear nutritional information, as well as educational tools that they can use to support a healthy lifestyle.”

Members of the Healthy Weight Commitment Foundation have already committed $20 million to this joint initiative to raise awareness about the importance of balancing a healthy diet with physical activity, particularly among children ages six to 11 years old and their parents and caregivers. This effort will include a soon-to-be announced national public education campaign on energy balance.

Source: Nestle USA

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Childhood obesity is a concern for parents and health professionals alike. In an effort to combat it, doctors recommend making sure your young children learn to be active at an early age so they’ll continue being active as they age. Teach your child these eight fun games for preschoolers to keep them active.

1. Hopscotch is a game that children have played for years. Draw a pattern of eight to twelve squares on the sidewalk with chalk. The children will place a rock or button in the first square, hop over the square with the rock, and then jump in the rest in sequence. At the end they’ll turn around and return, picking up their rock on the way. They’ll try to get the rock in each square until they get to the last one. They lose their turn if they step in the square with the rock.

2. Duck Duck Goose is another game you can play with your preschooler. Start with friends, family, or stuffed animals, sitting in a circle. One person is chosen as “It” to go around the circle, tapping each person on the head as they say “duck.” When they say the word “goose” that person gets up and chases them around back to their place, and they become it.

3. Most children have played Simon Says before. A group of children, or adults, stands in a line and “Simon” gives them instructions. As long as the phrase “Simon says” is given before the instruction, the group does what Simon says. If Simon says to do something but fails to say “Simon says,” the person who still does it is out. This continues until only one person is left and they then become Simon.

4. Tag is another game that’ll get your preschooler moving. Several children are chased by one child who is “It.” This child will try to tag the others, which will make the tagged child it. The children can play for as long as they’re having fun.

5. Bug Hunt is a game you may not know. Find pictures of bugs (ladybugs, ants, crickets, butterflies, etc.) and glue them to index cards. Give each child two or three cards and let them try to find those bugs.

6. Traffic Light (Red Light, Green Light) is a game where children are lined up on one end of a yard and another child plays the “stop light.” As soon as that child turns away from the others and yells “green light,” the other children move forward and try to reach him. The children must stop when the stop light turns and says “red light.” The child that reaches the stop light first then becomes it.

7. Help your child with a Treasure Hunt. Hide a gift and then create a treasure hunt where they’ll have to go around the yard or house, go through boxes, up and down stairs, to find their treasure.

8. Musical Chairs is another game that children love to play. Of course you’ll want to have a number of children (or adults) to play, as well. A circle of chairs are placed in a room, seats facing outwards, with one less chair than the number of children. Music starts and the children walk around the chairs; when the music stops the children try to find a seat. The one left standing is out, another chair is taken, and the music begins again.

Take time to play any of these eight fun games for preschoolers to keep them active. You’ll both have fun and your child will learn how to remain active and fight obesity.

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If you’ve been having back pain, the reason could be that you also have bad posture. Sitting up straight and walking tall do more for you than making you look good; it can also affect how well your muscles and joints perform. Posture and health go hand-in-hand in ridding you of back pain. This is an important virtue which should be integrated into child development early on.

Posture can be defined as the way in which you carry yourself or the position of your limbs in regard to the remainder of your body. To maintain good posture, you want to be aware of how you sit, stand, and walk to ensure your back is healthy and free of pain.

Poor posture can be caused by a number of factors. Obesity, pregnancy, weak muscles, high-heeled shoes, poor working environment, and laziness are a few contributing factors to poor posture.

Maintaining a good posture takes a conscious effort, much like any other habit. If you do something often enough, even standing or sitting straight with your stomach sucked in, it will become second nature and you won’t have to think about it.

Besides getting rid of back pain, having proper posture can also affect the other joints in our bodies. If you slouch while seated, your back, knees, and neck may hurt. If you let your posture go while driving, it could actually be a contributing factor to an accident because you won’t be able to see properly out the rearview or side mirrors.

Your back is the workhorse of the body. Not only is it involved in nearly every movement we make, it is central to balance and keeping our head on straight, so to speak. Backaches and injuries are some of the most common complaints when people visit doctors or when they call in sick.

If back pain is causing you problems, you’ll want to discuss it with your doctor. They may recommend a physical therapist or medication. You may also want to consult a chiropractor to help you correct bad posture.

Take time to be aware of how you stand, walk, sit, and lift. If you relax too much you may get lazy and begin slouching instead of keeping your spine straight and stomach pulled in. Keeping your posture intact helps strengthen the muscles along the spine and can help reduce or eliminate back pain.

Learn exercises that will strengthen your back muscles as well as those in your stomach. You’ll have an easier time maintaining good posture if your muscles are in shape. Strengthening the abdominal muscles, particularly, can aide your back as well.

Children are often told to “sit up straight” or “don’t slouch.” What may seem like a trivial thing to them may actually go a long way to helping them avoid back pain in the future. So, Mom, stick to your guns and keep encouraging them to have good posture. And don’t forget to model a good posture for them; pay attention to maintaining your posture, too.

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